


Paradigm shift

by capeofstorm



Category: V (2009)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 10:44:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capeofstorm/pseuds/capeofstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Lisa stands there, watching Tyler, her entire world changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paradigm shift

She remembers how she felt on her way down to confront her grandmother, her thoughts full of images of Tyler, her hands shaking slightly as she grasped them tightly in front of her to hide the sign of her weakness from her grandmother. The woman was her ally, she trusted her but deep down there was a doubt niggling in the corner of her mind, doubt and fear that her grandmother didn’t have the best intentions when it came to her. She smothered those thoughts and looked at her grandmother.

“Tyler is the one I want to be with,” her voice didn’t shake, it was steady, unlike her traitorous hands which used to run through Tyler’s soft hair.

And she wanted to be with him, more than anything. She wanted to be with the sweet, thoughtful boy she fell in love with. The boy who told her about the best pizza in town, who could talk for hours about his bike, who was torn apart by his parents’ divorce, who stuck by his friend no matter what. She wanted to be with the boy who was afraid of his mother’s disapproval, who punched a guy in her defense, who pressed soft kisses over her collarbone when they were in space. She wanted to walk hand in hand with the boy who offered her his jacket when she was cold and held her close on the metro – “there are creeps here, Lisa, don’t want you to stumble into any of them.” That was the boy she fought for, the boy for whom she risked everything.

But Tyler Evans isn’t that boy anymore. He is moody, he is pulling away from her, he hangs onto her mother’s every word especially now that she has blissed him. He lost his ability to feel and he’s more and more like she was before she met him. Sometimes she thinks it would have been better if they never met; Tyler would be safe with his mother and she would be with someone else, Rafael most likely. But that isn’t how it went and even though the V technology is amazing, it cannot turn back the time.

She stands by the window in her room, observing Tyler. He is talking with Thomas, his hands hanging limply down his sides, no longer telling stories along with his words. She had hope that he would be back to his old self before her mother blissed him but it is gone now. She and Joshua managed to break her mother’s hold on them but she is afraid Tyler isn’t strong enough to do that. He is just a boy who lashes out against the world that wants to make him a man.

But still, she will fight for him. Not to keep him – to return him to his mother. She will overthrow her own mother and she will become the queen. She will no longer have time for the boy who captured her heart and made her feel, she will be too busy trying to repair the damages her mother has dealt on the humans. But she won’t be alone. She will have the full backing of the Fifth Column and she will have Joshua by her side. Every queen had her advisor – her grandmother had Marcus, who is still loyal to her even though he is loyal to Anna whom he starts to doubt; and her mother, she has Thomas who has proved more helpful to her than Marcus. And she, she will have Joshua. Joshua who feels, who is ready to give his life for the cause, who already gave his life for the cause. Her mother always told her that an advisor should be only that, an advisor whose words she can take or throw away. But she knows it will be different with her and Joshua.

Tyler taught her how to feel, told her it was okay to feel all those emotions. But it was Joshua who told her that it was alright for her, as a V, as a future queen, to feel all of the emotions humans felt. He coached her through feeling love, sadness, regret, grief, happiness, pride. He gave her the benefit of doubt instead of outright killing her. He trusted her enough to involve her in the Fifth Column plans, enough to make her another soldier. He made her see things from another perspective. She remembers the feeling of joy and dread and longing and happiness and so many other emotions when she heard he was alive. She rushed to him and told him the truth, that she couldn’t do it without him, not anymore. His rejection stung and made her feel like all she fought for was lost. But even though he didn’t remember anything, he didn’t betray her and didn’t tell her mother about her undignified behaviour.

She kept him away at an arm’s reach when he seemed lost to her. But inside, she hoped he would again become the man she knew him to be, like she hoped for Tyler. She witnessed Joshua change and remember his old memories, his old self and she could have sang with joy. She knew then that she was ready to do whatever it took to overthrow her mother. She finally had her advisor, the only person she trusted with her life and death, back with her.

“Lisa.”

Joshua’s voice brings her out of her thoughts. She spares a last glance at Tyler’s figure before she turns around to face the Visitor. Her lips curl up in a slight smile as she waits for him to continue.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

He seems agitated, looking around her room, his gaze resting on her briefly before he looks away again. He comes to stand closer to her and looks out through her window to look at what she was looking at before he interrupted her. His gaze settles on Tyler and an emotion flutters across his face too quickly for her to identify. His shoulders tense, his whole posture more rigid than before.

“You don’t have to, you know. It is risky and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

His words make her reach out to him, her hand prepared to caress his chin like she has seen her mother do countless times before but she changes her mind. Her palm cups his jaw, her thumb caressing his cheekbone. She marvels at the softness of his skin and traces the shadows under his eyes. She promises herself she will never make him work too hard, she will never put the tiredness and exhaustion on his face. His eyes shift from the window to her and he seems to hold his breath. She furrows her brow, his reaction reminding her of how Tyler reacted when she did the same thing. Then she understands.

“I will be fine as long as I have you with me, Joshua. With you, I can do whatever it takes.”

He closes his eyes and releases a shuddering breath. He turns his head into her palm, his lips brushing against her skin, sending shocks through her. It feels like Blue Energy is coursing through her body, something she has never felt before. Joshua’s hand comes up to cover her own and he places a delicate kiss in the middle of her palm. It’s her turn to take in a sharp breath and to gaze at him as if she has never seen him before. He smiles at her, his lips stretching up, little laughter lines showing around his eyes. She commits the image to her memory and knows that this is first of many memories to come that carry emotion instead of information.

Joshua squeezes her hand before releasing it.

“It is time, then. Be safe, my queen.”

“Remember that I need you by my side, Joshua. Don’t take unnecessary risks.”

He inclines his head in a slow nod.

“As you wish, Lisa.”

She smiles at that, righting her posture and walking out of her room to meet her mother. She doesn’t know what exactly happened between her and Joshua just now but she knows that it felt like a beginning. She needs to act swiftly and take her place as the rightful queen. After that she will need to mediate with the humans and find out what exactly is her grandmother planning. She will have a busy time ahead of her but she knows she will handle it well with her advisor’s help.


End file.
